LitQueuelitqueue

After

The Salt Grows Heavy

Cassandra Khaw2023

5 of 6 directions open — nothing denser

More like it

1 more ↓

  • Manufacturing consent

    Edward S. Herman1988

    This text outlines a model for how corporate and state interests shape news media. It uses case studies to show how dissent is filtered out.

    dreamlike → tense

    pace0·prose0·bleak0

To recover

3 more ↓

  • The Score

    Elle Kennedy2016

    A college senior has a one-night stand with a hockey player to get over a breakup. They continue the arrangement as graduation approaches.

    dreamlike → playful

    pace+1·prose-3·bleak-2

  • The Kaiju Preservation Society

    John Scalzi2022

    A food delivery driver joins a secret organization that travels to an alternate Earth to care for massive, dinosaur-like creatures.

    dreamlike → playful

    pace+2·prose-3·bleak-2

  • Smokin' Seventeen

    Janet Evanovich2011

    A bounty hunter investigates bodies found in her boss's lot while choosing between three suitors. The story follows her daily mishaps in New Jersey.

    dreamlike → playful

    pace+1·prose-3·bleak-2

Faster

3 more ↓

  • Astrophysics for People in a Hurry

    Neil deGrasse Tyson2017

    A summary of the origin of the universe, the laws of physics, and the nature of space and time.

    dreamlike → playful

    pace+2·prose-3·bleak-2

  • Steal Like an Artist

    Austin Kleon2012

    A series of short, illustrated principles for creative work. It focuses on remixing existing ideas and establishing productive daily habits.

    dreamlike → playful

    pace+2·prose-3·bleak-2

  • Poke the Box

    Seth Godin2011

    A short manifesto encouraging readers to start projects and take initiative. It argues that the greatest risk is staying in place.

    dreamlike → earnest

    pace+2·prose-3·bleak-2

Slower

3 more ↓

  • Confessions

    Augustine of Hippo

    A 4th-century bishop writes a spiritual autobiography addressed to God. He recounts his sinful youth and his eventual conversion to Christianity.

    dreamlike → meditative

    pace-1·prose0·bleak-2

  • How to Read a Book

    Mortimer J. Adler1940

    This is a guide to active reading techniques for different genres. It outlines levels of reading from basic literacy to syntopical analysis.

    dreamlike → mysterious

    pace-1·prose0·bleak-1

  • The Red Book: Liber Novus

    C.G. Jung2009

    A psychologist records his visions and internal dialogues in an illuminated manuscript created during a period of intense self-exploration.

    Same dreamlike register

    pace-1·prose0·bleak-1

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • The Diary of a Young Girl

    Anne Frank2001

    A Jewish teenager records her daily life and thoughts while hiding from the Nazis in a secret annex in Amsterdam.

    dreamlike → earnest

    pace0·prose-2·bleak+1

  • A Child Called "It"

    Dave Pelzer1987

    A memoir of the author's childhood survival against severe physical and psychological abuse by his mother in California.

    dreamlike → bleak

    pace+1·prose-3·bleak+1

  • Twelve Years a Slave

    Solomon Northup1853

    A memoir by a free Black man from New York who is kidnapped and sold into slavery. He details twelve years of labor on Louisiana plantations.

    dreamlike → earnest

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak+1